Fling Club (Serendipity Book 1)

by Tara Brown

  “Four specifically?”

  “Yes. Or you could just settle for working at Starbucks and end it there. I mean, they have benefits.”

  “Starbucks?” He was randomly precise.

  “Yes, or you could go waitress in LA and pretend you’re going to be an actress.” He lifted my chin. “You have the looks. And I know you’re good at acting.”

  “Shut up.” I pulled back. “I don’t know how to act. There’s more to it than pretending to fit into one aspect of society without completely offending all the others.”

  “Aspect, instead of class?” he asked.

  “Your word, not mine.” I couldn’t fight the giggle.

  “It’s your last year, Cherry. You have time. And you’re rich, so you have some YOLO room.”

  “Are you mocking me?”

  “Yes.” He leaned forward, pressing his wet face against mine. “Always.”

  “You’re a jerk.”

  “I know. It’s part of my charm.” He kissed me again.

  We kissed, and I tried not to overanalyze everything.

  I suddenly had the feeling this was going to be an amazing summer.

  My first true one ever. And I didn’t even need the club to guarantee that.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  T. REX

  Ashley

  Decorating with rich people meant supervising the staff of the country club as they decorated.

  Being Cait’s lapdog for the summer meant I got to help supervise.

  And that meant I got to listen to her berate the staff and treat people poorly as fuck. I’d joked about quitting with Cherry, and after the last week with Cait, I was serious. This wasn’t worth it. It was painful.

  She smiled over at me, waving all cutesy, before she turned and lost it on a man for bringing the wrong chairs upstairs.

  As she ranted and shouted and stomped around the massive ballroom like a T. rex, I started to text Cherry, begging her to put an end to this charade before I put an end to my life.

  But Cherry was too busy with her friends—the girl squad she hung with from here—so her answers were short.

  My phone rang midtext.

  “Hiya, Mum.” I smiled, talking low so Satan’s mistress couldn’t hear me.

  “Hi, darling, I just wanted to update you. Dad’s doing much better. His cancer has reacted well to the treatments, and the doctors confirmed it hasn’t gone into his bones so he’s going to be right as rain in no time.”

  “Fantastic news. So he’s been going steady then?”

  “Aye, he finished the last set yesterday, pissing and moaning like a child, but it’s done. He’s sleeping now. He’ll be sick for a couple of days, miserable old codger, and then he should be good. If you wanna visit, any time after this week works. The sooner you come, the weaker he’ll look. But he bounces back fast. Doc says that if he’s mending well, he can go back to school in September of next year, only missing one more year of work.”

  “Oh, that’s great news. Made my morning.” I sighed, half lying. My dad missing another year of work would be awful for my family, but I would do everything I could to help. I certainly couldn’t quit this job. I needed the money, which meant I couldn’t volunteer for this position.

  “Where are ya? What is that terrible racket?” I could imagine her face as she said it, scrunching up her nose and all.

  “The job, Ma. That’s the devil-boss,” I whispered.

  “Sounds right mad!”

  “Oh, yeah. You have no idea . . .” I laughed. “Give Da a kick in the shin for me.”

  “I’ll do just that. Love ya.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” I hung up, feeling at least one positive thing from the day, week, month.

  Staying meant I would be able to afford to go see my dad. Maybe I could bring Cherry. Andy was moving this little plan of his along fast, with Ella and Ryan recording everything to ensure he gleaned what he could from the time I spent with Cait. I was making a video of her being a twat every chance I had. I had a camera hidden in the sunglasses on my head. I wore them everywhere I went. On my head. On my face. Sticking out of a pocket. I looked like one of those idiots who wore their sunglasses indoors and at night.

  But it was working.

  When we slow danced at a bar, the recorder was rolling.

  When we ate, the recorder caught her entire meal, or lack thereof.

  She ate like a bird.

  And someone was watching us at all times.

  His fling was Sarah. A match that seemed a little off at first. She didn’t seem his type. And yet as the days moved along, they actually got on quite well. She didn’t demand a lot of his time, and she really only wanted to hang out when they had functions. So he had time to monitor and obsess.

  Cherry’s guy was the same. His name was Josh, and as much as I was sure he was a model, turned out his parents wouldn’t allow it. He was also gay, which as an odd turn of events, made me quite relieved.

  Cherry commiserated with him because he was forced into the closet and out to the Fling Club. She could relate to another person who couldn’t be who he truly was as a member of this society.

  Poor lad.

  Him being so easygoing meant all my free time was spent with Cherry, in secret. The rest of the time was spent like this, with me and Cait and her craziness. She didn’t even mind that I never paid for her. I didn’t hold her hand. I didn’t pull out her chair.

  I literally spent the first two weeks doing the opposite of what my mother told me to.

  It felt wrong.

  But the results worked. The less I did, the harder she tried. She was desperate for me to like her.

  I could see it in her eyes. She faked harder and tried harder. Her level of phony reached new heights. As did her bashing of other people.

  She cackled with her friends over how brutally Cherry was dumped by Griffin. She loved the fact that Sarah was dating Andy, her leftovers. Breaking the rule didn’t even bother her. Everything was about her desperate hate for Andy and Cherry. And we recorded it all.

  And being the silent observer, I could see how much they bothered her. The more Cherry smiled, the worse Cait got. And thanks to our secret affair, Cherry was smiling more and more. She made my world brighter, and I clearly made hers more real.

  Sort of the opposite effect I had on Cait.

  The whole thing was intense to watch.

  I imagined some pinnacle of disaster was coming, an impending-doom moment.

  Cait was spread thin, running such a tight ship and working so hard to be perfect for all the moments when anyone who mattered was looking. She only relaxed with her closest friends, of which she had few. The flaws were starting to show. The seams were splitting, and I could tell it was just a matter of time before she cracked.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  SPRING FLING

  Cherry

  Spring Fling was a success. Everyone was dancing and drinking and socializing, and the drama seemed to be kept to a minimum. But it was still early.

  Rachel was even hitting it off with Laura, Cora, and Erica. She was fitting in beautifully.

  Andy danced away with Sarah, looking a bit too into his role. They were getting along better than Sarah and I ever had. I hadn’t seen that coming.

  More predictably, Cait seemed smitten with Ashley, working double-time to garner his affections. His cold-shoulder routine seemed like just the ticket. The less he tried, the harder she did. I realized then what his mad skills were. Indifference. Indifference was the key to all girls. Mean or grumpy guy at the bar. It was a thing. Girls were fixers. We liked the idea of making that grumpy guy smile. We wanted people to be happy. An indifferent guy drove us crazy. Just like Ashley was doing. He was the grumpy guy at the bar, and Cait was desperate to please him.

  God, we were easy to play.

  Josh, my date, and I danced, chatting civilly and acting more like friends.

  “May I?” Andy cut in, like I wanted to dance with my brother.

&nbs
p; “Sure.” Josh stepped back and let him take me into his arms. “I’ll go get us some drinks, Cherry.”

  “Thanks!” I winced as my brother stepped on my foot. “What’s up?”

  “Just wondering if maybe you girls would be into some deep-cover work?”

  “Deep cover?” I was lost.

  “Yeah. Can you possibly tear yourself away from here, even with lover boy clinging to Cait, to go do something for the cause?”

  “I could. He’s not clinging or my lover boy, by the way. You can’t possibly care that I’m secretly seeing Ashley?”

  “You mean besides the fact he’s being paid to sleep with you?” He went there.

  I was quick to Ashley’s defense. “He said he was going to quit. He said he isn’t taking the money at the end of the summer.”

  “What he says and what he does might be different. Just be cool until he proves you mean more than money.” He sighed. “But, back to the plan, I want you girls to go to Cait’s and snoop while everyone else is distracted. We’re not having an easy time coming up with the kind of dirt I want. I need more to seal this.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll assemble a team.” I sent a text to Rachel and Ella and walked to the bathroom, hoping Rachel would come to Cait’s and Ella would meet us there. Ashley’s eyes followed me across the dance floor.

  When I got to the bathroom, I closed the door and stared at myself.

  Two weeks earlier I’d been in this same bathroom, staring at myself.

  I’d wanted my revenge.

  I’d wanted her to hurt Cait the way she’d hurt me.

  But things had changed in two weeks.

  I’d changed.

  Could I actually go and break into her bedroom and snoop in her shit? More importantly, did I care enough to do it?

  “Cherry?” The door opened, and Griffin came strolling into the girl’s washroom, looking a little tipsy. “I thought that was you.” He leaned his back against the door. “We need to talk.”

  “Griff, you can’t be in here. It’s the women’s washroom.” I’d hoped he wouldn’t come; the whole Ashley-and-Cait thing should have been enough of a reason for him not to come. His parents were members of the club, but I truly didn’t think he would risk the scandal by showing his face.

  But here he was, drunk and needy. Idiot.

  “I came to see you.” He staggered forward, reaching for me.

  “No.” I pushed his hands away. “You blew it.”

  “I miss you.” He grabbed me, mauling me like a bear. “I miss the way you smell.” He draped himself over me. I pushed and wiggled, trying to escape, but he was too big.

  “Stop!” I shoved harder.

  “Just give me another chance.” He staggered and tripped, pushing me into the wall with him crushing me.

  “No!” I heaved him again, this time making him lose his balance the other way. He staggered back, almost like he was tap-dancing.

  “You miss me, too, admit it.”

  “I don’t.” I snorted, straightening my dress and folding my arms. “I don’t miss you at all. In fact, I haven’t thought of you since it ended.” That was a lie.

  “I think about you all day.” He said it like he was sober. Or in pain. I didn’t care which it was. He continued, “I think about you all day and all night.” He slumped against the counter, leaning on the wall. “Give me a second chance.”

  “No.” I might have succumbed to this moment had I not met Ashley. Had my sister not left me on the side of the road. Had I not had a slight mental breakdown and slept on a park bench. Had I not seen Cait and the club and my life for what they really were. Had I not realized I had low self-esteem and possibly a couple of personality disorders.

  But all those things had happened.

  “Please,” he pleaded.

  “Never. It’s not going to happen. So you need to go back out there and find someone else to trick into falling for you. You shouldn’t even be here. Cait’s with that guy who punched you in the face, and I’m sure he’d take pleasure in doing it again.”

  “Just tell me the truth about one thing. You really did fall for me? The way I fell for you?” His eyes tried to seduce me, like a snake charmer. Only he was the snake, and I was the mouse.

  “I did.” I told the truth. “But then you broke my trust and my heart.” I admitted it for the first time, not just to myself but also to another person.

  “I’m sorry, Cherry,” he said, seeming truthful. “I fucked up so bad. She came to the flat, said she had something to tell me. I was still drunk from the party the night before. She crawled in my bed and said you were dating some guy behind my back, that she had proof that you were going to break up with me and have a final fling, and then she stripped naked and started sucking me off, saying she was a better fit than you—”

  “I don’t need to hear how it happened.” My face and insides lit up, burning me from within.

  “But she didn’t mean anything to me. She was just a whore. That’s all. She just didn’t want us to be happy. She can’t stand anyone being happy, because she isn’t.” It was the most profound thing he’d ever said. “I’ll never be as sorry as I am now.”

  “Good.” I nodded, trying not to cry with rage. “Then you won’t ever do that to someone else again.”

  “No.” He stared me straight in the eyes and whispered, “I won’t ever break someone’s trust again.” He turned and left, leaving me with a pounding heart and angry tears in my eyes.

  I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. I now knew the answer to three questions: Did the punishment fit the crime, was I willing to stoop this low, and was I willing to become as bad as Cait was?

  The answer was yes, to all of them.

  I stormed from the bathroom, clicking my heels across the floor as I went to the ballroom where Rachel was and pulled her aside.

  “We’re going to Cait’s to break in and snoop in her shit and see if we can’t find something damning. Andy’s not having much luck with his nonsense, and I’ve had enough dragging out Cait and Ashley’s honeymoon from hell.”

  “Okay.” Rachel sounded excited. “Finally, something worth doing around here.”

  I was terrified. I’d gone from not just agreeing but now spearheading the whole thing?

  Anger was a funny emotion.

  And I was at my boiling point. Ex-boyfriends and ex-friends with a cheating streak had a tendency to bring that emotion out, I guess.

  Chapter Thirty

  THE BURN BOX

  Cherry

  I parked the car on the side of the road a block from Cait’s parents’ house.

  “We used to sneak out when we were younger, like fourteen. We used the service gate over there. There’s a gap in the hedge.” I climbed out, glancing down at the flip-flops I was wearing with my dress. “This was a good idea.” I wiggled my toes.

  “Yeah. I can’t imagine sneaking around with heels on.” Rachel gave me a look. “You sure the entire family is at the party?”

  “Yeah. I saw her parents and her brother right before we left. Andy said he’d text if she left.” I swallowed hard. “Ready?”

  “Kinda. I feel like we’re on an episode of Pretty Little Liars or something.”

  “Except they never wore flip-flops. They ran around in those huge heels.” I lifted a foot.

  “That’s what stunt doubles are for.” She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”

  We closed the car and locked it as we snuck along the road to the hedge. The lights from her house were visible from the road, but the hedge had to be twenty feet tall.

  I went straight to the gap, recalling it too well. Cait and I’d had fun when we were young. She was always bossy and mean, but I was on her team. I was protected by the friendship I never abused or squandered or even questioned.

  The same couldn’t be said for her.

  Something changed in her when we were fifteen.

  Whatever it was, she got meaner and more bitter as the years went on. Pushing the l
imits of what we’d do.

  Holding my body tight, I slid through the gap, hoping my dress didn’t snag. It led to the service gate, which was easy to climb from this side. I tucked my dress into the top, flashing my underwear at Rachel as I climbed over and jumped to the ground below.

  “Wow. You’re practiced at this.”

  “We snuck out a lot,” I whispered back as she hopped over too. We were at the service garages, behind the house. I hurried along the path between the buildings to the backyard where the pool house and guesthouse were. The back door by the bar was always left open; the Landrys were known for their summer parties and guests for weeks on end.

  I crept through the door and glanced around. “Now we have to look like we’re supposed to be here. There’re no security cameras, just lots of guards. Her dad doesn’t like anything he does filmed.”

  “Sounds like a nice guy.”

  “Oh, he’s the best,” I muttered, and walked like I owned the place.

  I avoided the main hall and took the staff stairs, hurrying up both flights without making a single sound.

  We came out on Cait’s floor, and I opened her double doors. Her bedroom was off the charts. It made mine look like a little kid’s or a guest room.

  Her parents gave her the better of the four master bedrooms in the mansion. Something I doubted they had much choice on.

  “Holy shit,” Rachel gasped. “I’ve seen some nice rooms in my life, but this.” She spun in a circle. “This is amazing.”

  “Yeah. She’s spoiled.” I nodded and hurried to Cait’s bedside table. I pulled open the drawers, rifled through them, not even sure what we were looking for. I went to the other side of the bed, searching, but nothing. “Check the bathroom,” I whispered. “Look for USBs or a diary or even an iPad or something.”

  Lights flicked on as we searched high and low for something to use against her.

  Then I spun in the room, staring at the walls and noting how they’d changed. Where she used to have signed posters, she now had artwork. Where she used to have a candy stand, she had what appeared to be a tranquility area.